Recovery isn’t just physical

The Chicago Marathon was just run this past weekend. Many other marathons or other big events have recently been or soon will be completed. That means it’s every runner’s favorite season: recovery!

What? Recovery time isn’t your favorite time? Yeah, you might not be alone.

I hear from a lot of runners that they don’t think they need a recovery period. They definitely don’t think they need the 4 weeks I push for once a year.

They tell me that their legs feel fine. Physically, they are ready to go. They are fired up after their last big race. Either it went well and they want to build on that or it didn’t and they want to get back out there to “make up for” it or seek some kind of vengeance.

The problem at the end of a long season isn’t just that you need more time physically than you expect, it’s that you also need more time mentally and emotionally than you expect.

Even if you were fully physically ready for the demands of 10-12 months of training and racing, that kind of effort also takes a mental and emotional toll.

You’re hopefully coming off an emotional high. It’s easy to feel invincible. Before you fall for that, though, ask yourself: are you really ready for the 10-12 months of grinding that’s ahead or would it be good to have a few weeks of down time first?

I’d rather see you take a few weeks now than find out in March or April that you started too early.